To date the problems of disposing, burning and transporting discarded tires are many and varied. In recycling tires for fuel, the most utilized method is cutting scrap tires into two inch chips. This has generally proved not to be cost effective since the cost of collecting, transporting and cutting the tires is more than the return in value as fuel.
The dimensions of a tire make it difficult to stack tires in a low volume consuming manner. In transporting tires to a recycling plant, motor trucks at times carry only one-half a full load by weight. Since a motor truck not loaded to its full weight potential costs very nearly as much to operate as one that is, the cost effectiveness of recycling scrap tires may be increased by increasing the weight load carried by the motor truck.
The weight load of scrap tires that may be carried by a motor truck can be increased by providing a mobile cutting apparatus that cuts the scrap tires into smaller pieces before the tires are placed within the motor vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,772 to Kisielewski discloses a mobile material cutter that makes a diametrical cut across a tire to half the tire. While this halving of a tire permits an increased weight load for motor trucks, a full load is still not possible. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,338,839 and 4,338,840 to Farrell, Sr. et al. disclose portable cutting machines which quarter a tire by means of a hydraulic cylinder ram which drives blades into the tire. It has been shown, however, that quartering a tire will still not permit full load transportation.
Mobile machinery that reduces a worn tire to two inch chips is known. But such machinery typically is cost prohibitive for the return in value of fuel because of the amount of energy needed to operate the machinery, as well as its bulk. Not all scrap tires are recycled. Many tires are buried in land fills. Strict regulations have been enacted to govern burial of discarded tires. Tire carcasses have an inherent resistance to burial or compaction and, therefore, it is required that a tire be cut into a number of segments prior to burial. U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,419 to Branick describes an apparatus for cutting away the side walls from the crown portion of a tire. The apparatus, however, is labor intensive since an operator cuts one tire at a time after placing the tire over a cylindrical drum.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which significantly increases the load of used tires that may be carried by a motor truck. A further object is to provide such an apparatus which has a low operating cost and a high degree of portability.